SINGAPORE // The Philippines has asked Singapore authorities to take action against a blog author who suggested Singaporeans should shove Filipinos on the street and be rude to Filipino workers.
It is the latest sign of growing intolerance toward migrant workers in the wealthy city-state.
The blog, titled “Filipino infestation in Singapore – 5 point guide to showing displeasure without breaking the law” was posted at the end of May and has since been taken down. It was written anonymously and was widely shared on social media, prompting the Philippine embassy in Singapore to appeal to the government for prompt action.
Local media reports say police were investigating, but gave no other details.
The incident came in the wake of rising tensions involving the growing number of migrant workers, who have largely built the country’s impressive skyline, transport infrastructure and other facilities.
About a quarter of the country’s 5.4 million people are transient workers, compared to 10 per cent in 1990, according to government statistics.
A small but vocal group of radical Singaporeans has been fanning online discontent with what they claim are lax immigration policies. In an anti-immigration rally last month, protesters claimed foreigners were stealing jobs from Singaporeans.
In December, mostly Indian workers rioted in the worst unrest in decades after an Indian worker was hit and killed by a bus driven by a Singaporean. Cars were torched and 18 people were injured.
Tens of thousands of Filipinos working in Singapore this month abandoned plans to celebrate their Independence Day at Singapore’s prime shopping district, Orchard Road, following an uproar by those who said that it would be an infringement of their sovereign rights for the event to take place at such a prominent location.
In a statement on its website this week, the Philippine embassy advised its nationals to be restrained in their response to the blog post and that it would be best for them to ignore it.
The blog suggested that Singaporeans should shove Filipinos on the street by pretending to bump into them. It also encouraged rude behaviour to Filipino staff working in the service industry.
A member of Parliament from the ruling People’s Action Party, Baey Yam Keng, said that racism will not be tolerated in Singapore.
“Singapore is used to many races being together and while some issues may arise with some nationalities once in a while, these issues won’t form a permanent part of our fabric of society,” he said.
* Associated Press
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Key changes
Commission caps
For life insurance products with a savings component, Peter Hodgins of Clyde & Co said different caps apply to the saving and protection elements:
• For the saving component, a cap of 4.5 per cent of the annualised premium per year (which may not exceed 90 per cent of the annualised premium over the policy term).
• On the protection component, there is a cap of 10 per cent of the annualised premium per year (which may not exceed 160 per cent of the annualised premium over the policy term).
• Indemnity commission, the amount of commission that can be advanced to a product salesperson, can be 50 per cent of the annualised premium for the first year or 50 per cent of the total commissions on the policy calculated.
• The remaining commission after deduction of the indemnity commission is paid equally over the premium payment term.
• For pure protection products, which only offer a life insurance component, the maximum commission will be 10 per cent of the annualised premium multiplied by the length of the policy in years.
Disclosure
Customers must now be provided with a full illustration of the product they are buying to ensure they understand the potential returns on savings products as well as the effects of any charges. There is also a “free-look” period of 30 days, where insurers must provide a full refund if the buyer wishes to cancel the policy.
“The illustration should provide for at least two scenarios to illustrate the performance of the product,” said Mr Hodgins. “All illustrations are required to be signed by the customer.”
Another illustration must outline surrender charges to ensure they understand the costs of exiting a fixed-term product early.
Illustrations must also be kept updatedand insurers must provide information on the top five investment funds available annually, including at least five years' performance data.
“This may be segregated based on the risk appetite of the customer (in which case, the top five funds for each segment must be provided),” said Mr Hodgins.
Product providers must also disclose the ratio of protection benefit to savings benefits. If a protection benefit ratio is less than 10 per cent "the product must carry a warning stating that it has limited or no protection benefit" Mr Hodgins added.
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Schedule
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A%20QUIET%20PLACE
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Defenders: Ahmad Al Salih, Moayad Ajan, Jehad Al Baour, Omar Midani, Amro Jenyat, Hussein Jwayed, Nadim Sabagh, Abdul Malek Anezan.
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Favourite author: Malcom Gladwell
Favourite travel destination: "Antigua in the Caribbean because I have emotional attachment to it. It is where I got married."